Naoya Shimada

Naoya Shimada (島田 直也)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 171 lbs.

• High School Joso Gakuin High School

• Born March 17, 1970 in Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Naoya Shimada played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 14 years.

Shimada was signed by the Nippon-Ham Fighters in 1987, but he spent most of the first four seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues, only pitching 21 games combined with the big club. The Fighters then traded him to the Taiyo Whales for Masaru Ishikawa after the 1991 season. Shimada still didn't get many chances with the big club as his appearances were 14 and 16 respectivel over the next two yearsy.

The Kashiwa native broke out in 1994. He pitched 50 games with a solid 3.86 ERA, and won 9 games. He was still reliable in the next two seasons, having a 10-4 record with a 3.57 ERA and went 3-3 with a 3.86 ERA respectively. Shimada won the Central League Most Valuable Setup Pitcher Award with 24.75 relief points in 1997, and his ERA improved to 2.55. He extended his solid performance in 1998 as he had a 2.36 ERA in 54 games, and won the CL pennant with the Yokohama BayStars. In the 1998 Nippon Series, he only pitched one shutout inning in Game 4, and won his first Nippon Series title as the BayStars knocked down the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 6 games. It was the first Japan Series win for the BayStars.

With his elite pitching from '98, Shimada was selected into the 1999 NPB All-Star Games, and he allowed a run in 2 innings in Game 3. However, he struggled after the All-Star Break and ended up 0-4 with a 5.36 ERA in 1999. His 4.70 ERA was still not good in 2000 and he only pitched 21 games, so the BayStars released him. The Yakult Swallows picked him up, and Shimada came back with his 2.91 ERA in 53 appearances in 2001. He only faced one batter - Eiji Mizuguchi - in Game 2 of the 2001 Nippon Series, and he was replaced by Tatsuki Yamamoto after Mizuguchi hit a 3-run homer off him. The Yakult still beat the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 6 games to give Shimada his second Nippon Series title. He only pitched 4 games with the big club in 2002, then the Swallows released him. The Buffaloes then signed him, but Shimada still only pitched 4 games in 2003, then he announced his retirement. He was the pitching coach for the BayStars from 2015 to 2017.

Overall, Shimada was 39-38 with a 3.69 ERA, struck out 417 and pitched 665 2/3 innings in 14 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio